CRAFTSOffline map Google map ( 0535 63 41 16; Rue de la Musée, Batha; admission Dh10;
8.30am-noon & 2.30-6pm Wed-Mon) Housed in a wonderful 19th-century summer palace,
converted to a museum in 1916, the Batha Museum houses an excellent collection of traditional
Moroccan arts and crafts. Historical and artistic artefacts include fine woodcarving, zellij and
sculpted plaster, much of it from the city’s ruined or decaying medersas . It also has some fine
Fassi embroidery, colourful Berber carpets and antique instruments.
The highlight of the museum is the superb ceramic collection dating from the 14th century to
the present. These are some fantastic examples of the famous blue pottery of Fez. The cobalt
glaze responsible for the colour is developed from a special process discovered in the 10th
century.
The museum’s Andalucian-style garden offers temporary respite from the bustle and noise of
the medina, and the spreading holm oaks provide a backdrop for the open-air concerts the
museum hosts during the Sacred Music and Sufi Culture festivals.
Chaouwara Tanneries
Offline map Google map ( Derb Chouwara, Blida) The Chouwara tanneries are one of the city’s
most iconic sights (and smells). Head east or northeast from Place as-Seffarine and take the
left fork after about 50m; you’ll soon pick up the unmistakeable waft of skin and dye that will
guide you into the heart of the leather district (the touts offering to show you the way make it
even harder to miss).
It’s not possible to get in among the tanning pits themselves, but there are plenty of vantage
points from the streets that line them, all occupied (with typical Fassi ingenuity) by leather
shops. Each shop has a terrace that allows you to look over the action. Try to get here in the
morning when the pits are awash with coloured dye. Salesmen will happily give an explanation
of the processes involved and will expect a small tip in return or, even better, a sale. While this
might feel a little commercialised, you probably won’t find a better selection of leather in
Morocco, and prices are as good as you’ll get.
In recent years, there have been plans mooted to move the tannery out of the medina
altogether and redevelop the site as a green area. However, with both the economic and
cultural impact of the plans for this district of the medina remaining uncertain, it’s unsure
whether these plans will ever leave the drawing board.
LIFE IN THE LEATHER DISTRICT
Tanneries provide perhaps the greatest illustration of how resolutely some parts of Morocco have clung to practices developed
in medieval times. Moroccan leather, and more particularly the Fassi leather produced in Fez, has for centuries been highly
prized as among the finest in the world. One type of leather, a soft goatskin used mainly in bookbinding, is simply known as
‘morocco’.
It’s claimed that tanning leather in Morocco goes back several millennia, and little has changed since medieval times.
Donkeys still labour through the narrow street carrying skins to dye pits, which are still constructed to traditional designs (with
the addition of modern ceramic tiles). Tanners are organised according to ancient guild principles, with workers typically born
into the job. Unfortunately, health and safety principles are similarly old-fashioned, and health problems among the workers,
who are knee-deep in chemicals all day, are not uncommon.
Rank odours abound at the tanneries, and the delicate tourists who come to view the work will often be offered a sprig of
mint to hold to their noses to take the edge off the pong (rain also dampens the smell). Major components in processing the